Nornforged — Fate at the Forge

Developed by RYN · Version 0.2.4 · Early access

Give every newly crafted weapon, tool and piece of equipment a permanent fate. Nornforged adds 201 perks, 19 crafting outcomes, independent perk strengths, rarity visuals and a detailed damage ledger. Use ordinary crafting stations and materials—no extra currency, reroll station or recipe is required.

This maintenance release retains the gameplay balance introduced in 0.2.2. See the changelog for release changes and the complete perk catalog for compatible items, numerical ranges and effect rules.

Installation

Requires Valheim 1.0.15, BepInExPack Valheim 5.4.2350 and Jötunn 2.30.0 or newer; Jötunn 2.30.1 is supported.

1. Close the game and server before installing or updating.
2. Install the dependencies through your mod manager. For a manual installation, place both Nornforged DLLs in BepInEx/plugins/Nornforged/ inside the game or selected mod-manager profile.
3. Start the game through the mod manager or BepInEx-enabled launcher. Missing configuration files are created automatically.
4. Craft new equipment at an ordinary station. Equipment that existed before installation remains Unrated.

For multiplayer, install the exact same Nornforged version on the server and every client, with its dependencies. The host/server controls gameplay settings; clients receive those settings automatically. Visual and interface preferences remain local.

When updating, preserve your existing configuration and the entire BepInEx/config/Nornforged/authority/ directory. Do not replace customized configuration with the ZIP's defaults.

Crafting and permanent Fateprints

Each eligible new equipment output receives its own Fateprint. Positive ranks grant perks; negative ranks grant penalties. Even a Worthless item remains usable. Tools draw from work-related pools, while weapons, shields and worn equipment receive effects suited to their actions and stats.

Default equipment has no perks or changed native stats. It receives no rarity border, background or special reveal sound. Default is a completed, permanent result, just like every other outcome.

Upgrading, repairing, storing or trading equipment preserves its original Fateprint and rolled values. Percentage bonuses use the upgraded item's native baseline. There is no reroll mechanic or pity counter. Independently rolled equipment occupies individual inventory slots.

Default crafting chances

These are chances per eligible crafted item, not additional monster-loot drops. Server administrators can change future-roll settings.

The table totals 100%. Positive rank equals total perk count; negative rank magnitude equals penalty count. Transcendent has nine Standard and three Ultra perks. Its chance is 1 in 1,000 per craft, without a guaranteed result after any number of attempts.

Strength and Perk Quality Score

Every numerical parameter rolls independently of rarity and the other parameters. 80% of strength rolls fall in the bottom 10% of their range; the top 5% has a 0.02% chance. A lower-rarity item can roll an excellent value, and a high-rarity item can roll modest values.

Selected uncapped percentage bonuses have wider maximum ranges at +9, +10, +11 and +12: 1.5×, 2×, 2.5× and 3× their ordinary maximum. Chances, cooldowns and bounded effects retain their limits. Current execution caps still apply to saved values.

Tooltips show each perk's PQS—Perk Quality Score, the average of its saved parameter scores. Higher scores mean stronger benefits, including shorter cooldowns; for penalties, they mean greater severity. PQS is neither a percentile nor an estimate of the item's overall power.

Controls and presentation

• F6 while hovering inventory equipment: inspect complete perk triggers, saved values, individual scores, ranges and caps. Close with F6, Escape or Close.
• F9: open the damage ledger and local display settings. The HUD shows rolling damage per second and total damage; the default window is five minutes and includes idle time.
• Drag window titles: move the guide, F6 details and damage ledger. Drag the HUD header while the cursor is available, such as with inventory or F9 open. Positions are saved locally.
• Damage numbers: normal numbers show three decimals. Colored perk contributions are already included in the hit total; they are not extra damage. Damage-over-time enters the ledger when its ticks land.
• Freyr's Garden: hold Left Shift while planting for a valid 3×3 group. All nine positions and seed costs must be available.

Non-Default inventory icons have rarity-colored borders without perk-count badges. +6 through +8 add static backgrounds; +9 and above animate them. +12 adds an aurora, corner runes and orbiting sparks.

World effects begin at +6. Weapon glow follows the actual weapon mesh in the hand, on the back and on the ground. Higher tiers gain distinct surface patterns, including runic and prismatic effects from +9. Saved elemental perks determine the palette. Armor retains coordinated auras. Weapon glow adds no particles or trails; reduced effects freeze its animation and simplify armor effects.

Configuration, backups and recovery

Edit gameplay settings in BepInEx/config/Nornforged/gameplay.json while the host/server is stopped, then restart. Invalid settings are rejected. Changes affect future rolls; completed Fateprints and already-prepared crafting transactions keep their original data. Exact untouched defaults from 0.1.0, 0.2.0 and 0.2.1 upgrade automatically with a backup; customized files are preserved.

Local presentation settings are in BepInEx/config/rinor.nornforged.cfg, including intensity, reduced effects, inventory animation, sounds and damage displays.

Back up character saves, world saves and the complete authority directory together. The authority directory contains the signing key and transaction records needed to verify and recover equipment. Move it with a migrated server; never distribute its private key to clients. Items from a different authority retain their data but have inactive effects until returned to the issuing authority. These files are saved separately, so an interrupted save is not a substitute for coordinated backups.

A remote craft may briefly display Fateprint pending while its receipt arrives. For an item that remains pending, keep it on its original character and authority, then choose Recover pending items in the guide. Recovery reuses the original transaction and never rerolls a completed result. Missing original authority records cannot safely be recreated.

With Valheim's console enabled, nornforged welcome reopens the guide, nornforged recover requests recovery, and nornforged status shows diagnostics. Configuration and receipt errors are also recorded in BepInEx/LogOutput.log.

Compatibility and removal

Nornforged is in early access. Mods that replace crafting, inventory, equipment or combat behavior may require specific compatibility support. Some mod-added equipment may not be eligible, and custom models or interfaces can affect presentation. Keep backups before changing an established modded world.

To uninstall, close the game/server and remove BepInEx/plugins/Nornforged/. Equipment uses its ordinary native behavior while the mod is absent. Retain configuration and authority backups for a future reinstall; other mods or save editors may discard custom item data. All clients and the server must update their mod sets together.

Nornforged and its original artwork are distributed under the included MIT license. Valheim and the required dependencies retain their respective licenses.

Changelog

0.3.1 — Compare and understand your equipment

• Hold either Shift key while hovering equipment to see green or red differences directly beside native values and perk amounts. Release Shift to return to the normal hover; the quick view always uses matching equipped gear. F6 keeps the detailed inspector.
• The Shift hover starts with a compact swap summary naming added, removed and changed perks. Candidate perks carry clear status labels; removed effects retain their full values. Extra gear actually displaced by a hand-slot change, such as a shield, is identified separately.
• Fixed verified private Test Lab items incorrectly appearing inactive in comparisons. Rejected or unverified items remain inactive; the comparison never rerolls or rewrites an item.
• Faster, consistent mouse-wheel scrolling across Nornforged windows, with smooth fractional input and screen-aware sizing from small displays through Full HD, ultrawide and 4K. Existing Valheim canvas scaling is respected.
• Rebuilt F6 as a draggable, scrollable equipment comparison window with three views: comparison, perk explanations, and saved values and rules. It follows the game's German or English language setting.
• Automatically compares matching equipment slots and roles, including held and sheathed equipment. A remembered reference also lets you compare two items in your inventory. Normal, Default and inactive items remain inspectable.
• Shows native item values, useful differences, and perks added, changed, removed or unchanged. Conditional effects, ammunition, skills, shared caps and displaced shields are identified instead of collapsed into a misleading overall power rating.
• Added plain explanations and worked examples for all 201 perks. Hover summaries stay compact; F6 explains triggers, quality scores, cooldowns, stacking and limits using the item's saved rolls and current server limits.
• Added stable high-quality perk-name highlights, readable small-screen layouts, remembered window position and safe input handling. Inactive rolls remain clearly marked and are never repaired or rerolled by comparison.
• This update changes presentation only. Saved Fateprints, crafting probabilities, perk ranges and gameplay configuration remain unchanged. The authority protection from 0.3.0 and MrReed's Rested fix remain included. Update server and clients together.

0.3.0 — Safer updates and recovery

• Moved authority identity and crafting records outside ordinary configuration to BepInEx/NornforgedData/authority/. Existing legacy authority data is copied on host startup while its original files remain intact.
• Added automatic local backups in BepInEx/NornforgedBackups/authority/, covering signing identity, transaction receipts and prepared-craft configuration snapshots. A recoverable missing or damaged primary can use a matching backup; conflicting identity evidence stops authority startup without replacing it.
• Added clearer authority and inactive-Fateprint diagnostics. Pending-item recovery distinguishes unfinished transactions from completed items whose original signing authority is missing or different; completed outcomes are never rerolled or re-signed.
• Added an update and recovery guide. A key already lost before this update still requires an original backup. Thanks to MrReed for reporting the update-related loss of active perks.
• Existing Fateprints, perk values, rarity chances and gameplay configuration remain unchanged. The 0.2.9 Rested fix remains included. Update the server and every client together.

0.2.9 — Rested regeneration fix

• Fixed Nornforged overwriting native status-effect modifiers, which removed the Rested stamina-regeneration bonus even without perk equipment. Thanks to MrReed for reporting this bug!
• Health and Eitr regeneration, stamina costs and fall-damage modifiers now preserve the native result before applying perks. Resting bonuses, Wet penalties and native cost limits also remain effective.
• Existing Fateprints, perk values, crafting chances and configuration remain unchanged.

0.2.8 — Armor effects and equipment fixes

• Fixed worn effects inheriting the player skeleton's 95x import scale. Helmet effects now use the native helmet socket; all armor slots and moving leg effects stay close to their equipment through animation and re-equipping.
• Failed or broken blocks no longer activate successful-block perks. Barriers, regeneration, retaliation and stamina refunds require damage actually stopped by the native block.
• Freyr's Garden checks the full nine-plant stamina cost using the world's stamina-rate setting.
• Added MyDirtyHoe 2.1.1 brush interoperability. Signed perk-expanded operations avoid its duplicate radius packet, while ordinary MyDirtyHoe operations retain their native behavior.

0.2.7 — Cleaner perk counts

• Removed the translucent background behind perk counts in inventory and hotbar icons. Only the small rarity-colored number remains.
• Raised the count by ten UI pixels to keep it clear of the durability bar.

0.2.6 — Equipment inspector and movement fix

• Fixed movement bonuses repeatedly multiplying accumulated physics velocity, including upward jump velocity. Tempo bonuses now modify native walking speed inputs once; jumping, falling and momentum retain native behavior.
• Equipment hover uses a dedicated screen-bounded panel with native stats, compact colored perk cards, smaller Valheim fonts and mouse-wheel scrolling. Large rolls use two perk columns when space allows.
• Removed repeated native tooltip title rewriting and overlapping native/custom rendering. Reused slots, gamepad selection, F6 handoff and live stat refresh retain a single stable display.
• Hover takes over only once the replacement is visible. Gameplay input blocks no longer hide inventory information; unavailable custom UI restores the native tooltip.
• Fixed missing perk cards in the actual game world: the inspector uses its own layer on the native inventory canvas, independent of Jotunn's transient invalid main-scene canvas dimensions.
• Beneficial perk names gently shimmer from 90% saved PQS, with stronger sheen from 99%. Text never moves; penalties stay static. AnimatedPerkNames and ReducedEffects control this display.
• Inventory and HUD hotbar share rarity borders, tier backgrounds and Transcendent decoration. Optional small numbers show actual perk count, such as +8, in rarity color at the lower right. Toggle ShowPerkCount locally.
• Saved items, perk rolls, crafting probabilities and authority data remain unchanged. Update server and clients together.

0.2.5 — Elemental flames and frost

• Replaced coplanar weapon surface overlays and legacy armor aura meshes with original elemental particles from Mythic (+9). Native item textures remain intact.
• Fire, frost, lightning, poison and spirit have distinct forms. Mixed perks retain their own channels; both saved PQS and actual rolled percentages determine intensity.
• +9 through +12 increase effect density, size and radiance. Full armor coordinates its rhythm while preserving each item's element and strength.
• Effects follow held, back-carried and dropped weapon geometry, including skinned deformation. Bone-attached armor includes moving leg anchors. Unlit, depth-tested materials support indoor visibility without showing through walls.
• Particle and reduced-effect preferences bound world effects. Inventory borders/background thresholds, gameplay balance and saved rolls are unchanged.

0.2.4 — Maintenance

• Updated player documentation and release packaging.
• Gameplay, saved items, perk values and drop chances remain unchanged.

0.2.3 — Weapon surface glow and compact perk quality

• Hover tooltips now keep each perk in one compact paragraph: colored bold name, neutral effect description and a subdued Perk Quality Score (PQS). PQS averages the perk's saved parameter scores; it is not reconstructed from current ranges or presented as a percentile. F6 retains the complete triggers, exact values and individual scores.
• The current six-package profile uses Jötunn 2.30.1; the declared minimum remains 2.30.0.
• Weapon rarity effects now follow the native mesh through an unlit surface pass from Epic (+6), including held, back-carried and ground equipment. Seven increasingly vivid profiles culminate in prismatic aurora across the actual weapon; weapon surfaces emit no particles.
• Saved elemental percentages still determine color and intensity. Native geometry, UVs, skinning, materials and existing effects are preserved. Unreadable or over-budget meshes use a uniform surface pulse with the same native geometry.
• Hand/back cosmetic snapshots now include the native prefab identity. New models wait for matching metadata, and native replacement hooks immediately clear the old owned overlay. This covers Valheim's separate hidden-item records and back clones.
• Armor anchors, coordinated set palette, inventory decoration and gameplay remain unchanged. The release keeps the 0.2.2 gameplay defaults and does not introduce a configuration migration or reroll existing items.
• Added native weapon mesh, skinning, visibility and material checks, focused held/back lifecycle fixtures and native-camera preview coverage. See the current testing report for executed evidence; live-world and multiplayer appearance remain separate checks.

0.2.2 — Rarity curve fix

• Corrected the lower positive rarity progression: Common 25%, Uncommon 15%, Rare 6.6%. Default stays 35%, all negative ranks and +4 through +12 stay unchanged, and the table totals exactly 100%.
• Complete untouched 0.2.1 gameplay defaults upgrade automatically with a backup, alongside existing 0.1.0/0.2.0 migrations. Custom configurations, already prepared crafting transactions and existing items keep their original data.
• Added regression coverage for strictly decreasing positive rarity chances and an exact three-weight-only configuration change.

0.2.1 — Arsenal & Fortune

• Normal Default equipment returns at 35%, with zero perks, native stats and no added icon border, background, sound or VFX. Its signed outcome stays permanent through upgrades and recovery.
• Reviewed uncapped percentage maxima expand again from +9: 1.5×, 2×, 2.5× and 3× through +12. Extreme values still require the separate rare strength roll; probabilities and bounded mechanics are excluded.
• Expanded to 201 implemented perks, including 23 weapon/shield effects with native capability and attack-type restrictions. Noncombat tool pools remain separate.
• Compact colored perk descriptions distinguish Standard, Special, Ultra and penalties. Compact values trim trailing zeros; F6 retains full numerical precision, conditions and limits. Tooltip definition lookup is cached across draws and refreshed with authority configuration.
• Wider positive percentage ranges, with far less frequent high-strength rolls: 80% in the bottom tenth of the range, 0.02% in the top five percent. Probability, cost and other structural caps remain.
• Rarer high ranks: +4 at 3%, +6 at 0.75%, +9 at 0.18%, +10 at 0.15%, +11 at 0.12%, +12 at 0.1% (1 in 1,000). No pity counter or existing-item reroll.
• Stronger original world VFX begins at +6, escalating through +12; redesigned upper-tier forms retain saved elemental colors and intensity.
• Inventory icons replace perk-count/rank badges with rarity-colored borders for every non-Default rank. Static colored backgrounds begin at +6, animated backgrounds at +9; +12 adds a distinct aurora, four corner runes and four orbiting sparks. Animation can be frozen locally.
• Dedicated worn-slot anchors cover texture-only armor. Full sets share elemental colors, timing and one central motif while preserving each piece's strength and rarity; the installed ObjectDB equipment catalog is audited beyond craftable recipes.
• Guide, damage ledger, F6 details and HUD are movable by their title/header. Local positions persist; uGUI windows adapt to screen/scale changes. The HUD can be dragged while the pointer is available, for example with inventory or F9 open.
• Current profile review targets AzuEPI 2.5.1, AutoStore 3.1.6 and CraftyBoxes 1.8.22 with Jotunn 2.30.0. Removed optional mods impose no ingredient-conflict restrictions in this profile.
• Untouched 0.1.0 and 0.2.0 gameplay defaults upgrade with a backup. Custom configurations, existing Fateprints and prepared transaction snapshots are preserved.

0.2.0 — The Living Forge

• Expanded from 107 to 178 implemented perks with deliberate item roles and native capability checks. Building tools no longer receive combat filler. Wider independent strengths allow exceptional Ultra rolls while all eighteen rarity chances remain unchanged.
• Four escalating high-rarity shiny flame forms. Actual saved elemental percentages control intensity; mixed elements produce readable gradients, including fire/frost. Equipped and ground profiles retain bounded shared resources and reduced mode.
• Native damage totals and additional colored per-perk contributions display three decimals. Actual removed health, armor, overkill, direct procs and delayed elemental ticks feed a bounded rolling damage ledger without double-counting.
• Continuous five-minute DPS/total HUD, configurable windows and display settings, F9 breakdown, and character-inventory combat record.
• Colored rank badges above durability, animated high-rarity inventory backgrounds and eighteen original rarity sounds for reveals and actual drops.
• First-entry early-access guide with all rarity odds, gameplay tips and native Norse-font “Developed by RYN”.
• Fixed pending Fateprints when auto-equip moves or clones a craft output outside the main inventory. Successful transactions follow their outputs; explicit legacy recovery reuses original prepared receipts, with aborted craft protection.
• Added targeted adapters for the supplied server pack: AzuEPI real equipment slots and statistics panel, EpicLoot component preservation/conversion attribution, ImpactfulSkills quality and equip timing, metadata-safe storage/stacking and drawer exclusion, scoped MyDirtyHoe brush choices, AzuAreaRepair durability/stamina and Build Camera placement ordering. Documented narrow AAA sequential-output policy and remaining multiplayer checks.
• Preserved EpicLoot custom/decorated names and added preflight protection against competing ImpactfulSkills/CraftyBoxes material consumption; affected equipment can be crafted with per-character container pulling disabled.
• Untouched 0.1.0 default gameplay files upgrade with a backup. Customized configurations and all permanent rolled values are preserved. New telemetry, native tool, visual, presentation and crafting regressions extend verification; actual multi-client gameplay remains a manual acceptance step.

0.1.0

Initial implementation of Nornforged — Fate at the Forge for Valheim 1.0.14.

• Eighteen exact default rarity weights; independent, biased strength sampling and completion-aware compatible selection across 107 perk definitions.
• Instance metadata, native upgrade preservation, authority signatures, durable transaction receipts and host-controlled gameplay policy.
• Implemented combat, survival, crafting, gathering, fishing and magic effects with explicit caps and trigger boundaries.
• Native tooltip integration, colored inventory accents, an F6 scrollable inspector, and original runtime rarity visuals.
• Deterministic statistical tests, production-adapter tests, installed-API checks, and isolated real-Unity startup/native-item checks. See TESTING.md for executed coverage and remaining gameplay verification.